Fegalo Mitee, one of the leaders of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, fled Nigeria after the execution of Nigerian author and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogonis in November 1995. He and his family now live in Alexandria, Virginia (USA).

It has been one year since we got here. When I first arrived I didn't know anybody – no Nigerian, no black person, no white person. It was very difficult. We have different ways, different expectations, different attitudes. It's interesting, because I thought there were a lot of hazards here, but what you see on television is not the same thing. I was thinking that people are not friendly, but I have seen that everybody is ready to help. A lot of people around this area where we live are immigrants. They have gone through similar problems. My family and I have gone through the initial settling-in period and we are now settling down.

The psychology of coming from a situation where you were the head of a department, a leader of a group of people to a situation where you are virtually nobody is a difficult one. Losing everything in your life, even your personal documents, has a great impact on you.

The Lutheran Social Services representatives took me to a hotel. They asked me to do some work, cleaning toilets, things like that. I couldn't cope. With my master's degree in Digital Systems Communication, I was thinking a developed country like this would need someone in that field, but they wanted a job history to be able to trust someone. Also, in that field you need security clearance, and if you're not a citizen, you cannot get work.

Psychologically, I was not all that prepared, but I had to do it because I have kids – a baby girl and a boy who is nine years old. Luckily for me, I have a lot of self-confidence. It was possible to get a job in a department store called Radio Shack. It is $5 an hour basic pay, but I'm learning. In the next few months I will be ready to take another leap. I'll see what else I can do.

In Nigeria I founded an environmental movement which quickly became very popular. When we started, the government disregarded us. They thought that this tiny group of people could do nothing. When we became successful the government started to get annoyed and tried to stop the movement.

In 1993 the government started arresting people. When they came for me I was able to jump from the upstairs window and run into the bush. My brother couldn't jump so they arrested him. As I made my way to a nearby village I saw the killings. There were Ogonis and even other people from the university being raped and killed in front of other people. It was worse than I could have imagined. I can't talk much about it. I stayed underground for one full year.

At the time they killed Ken I was still underground. I felt that I was still an inspiration to our people and felt I should stay and not run away. They wanted to silence us because what we were saying was right. We wanted to show the world that we don't want to actually use violence, thinking that the world would say, okay, since this is the first non-violent movement in Africa fighting for the environment, they would be able to protect us. It was when they killed Ken and they started looking for us again that we all decided to escape. So I got my wife and children and said we have to go to the next border, we might be better off being alive there than dead here.

I asked my brother to sell our things, give us some money. We disguised ourselves. The border to Benin was very difficult to cross. We sneaked through and then ran and used a vehicle. We then asked a taxi driver to drop us at an embassy, but it was very difficult to get near the embassy area.

Someone suggested we go to UNHCR. It was towards the weekend, I think Friday, and they were trying to close. They told us we were not supposed to come at this time. I told them that we had two little kids, and then they came and took care of us. We slept on the floor at UNHCR. They were very helpful. My youngest child was about five months old. She was very ill. We didn't think she would survive. We went to different embassies stating our position and we were finally accepted by the United States.

UNHCR has done a good job. The only thing you should do in addition is to follow up those you have resettled. Ask how you are after three months, how you are being taken care of. Information is the most important thing in someone's life. And we lacked that. That's why it took us a long time to settle. But we are happy. We are able to talk to a lot of people, someone gave us this table, we took these chairs from the trash and someone gave us the telephone.

A lot of people do not realize what a refugee goes through, psychologically and physically. You lose all your property, including your documents, your expectations, and even people you love. Those who are very close to you are killed by a bullet but you survive. When someone has gone through a terrible experience, it can haunt them all through their lives.

UNHCR country pages

Mikhail Sebastian is a stateless man who has been living in the United States for more than a decade-and-a-half. In this video, he tells of the hardships he has faced and the importance of providing legal protections to stateless persons in the U.S.

Operational Guidance for the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies and malnutrition.

Victims of Conflict in Nigeria Find Safety in Cameroon Camp

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres visited Cameroon in late March to put a spotlight on the situation there of tens of thousands of refugees from Nigeria. These people have escaped mounting violence by insurgents in the north-east of their country. Among the places that Guterres visited during his March 24-25 visit is the Minawao Refugee Camp, where many of the uprooted have been relocated.

Situated some 120 kilometres from the dangerous border area with Nigeria in Cameroon's Far North region, Minawao camp is currently home to 33,000 Nigerian refugees, mainly from Borno state. Many of the arrivals are traumatized and in need of material and psycho-social help. They told the High Commissioner of losing their homes and belongings as well as members of their families. Some were injured. In total, an estimated 74,000 Nigerians have found refuge in Cameroon while cross-border incursions from Nigeria have displaced 96,000 Cameroonians. UNHCR photographer Hélène Caux also visited Minawao to hear the individual stories.

Victims of Conflict in Nigeria Find Safety in Cameroon Camp

Nigeria: The Casualties of Conflict

One year after the Nigerian government declared a state of emergency in the northern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, violence continues to displace people within Nigeria and to neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger, including some 22,000 Nigerian refugees. Civilians trapped at home face recurrent attacks by insurgents, with a series of kidnappings and killings culminating in mid-April this year in the abduction of more than 200 girls from a school in Chibok, Borno.

UNHCR's Hélène Caux recently travelled to the region to meet with some of the 250,000 internally displaced, including students caught up in the violence. Those she spoke to told her about their fears, and the atrocities and suffering they had endured or witnessed. People spoke about their homes and fields being destroyed, grenade attacks on markets, the killing of friends and relatives, and arbitrary arrests. Uniting them is an overwhelming sense of terror. Caux found it a challenge to photograph people who live in constant fear of being attacked. "It was this delicate balance to try to achieve between featuring them, communicating their stories and protecting them," she said.

Nigeria: The Casualties of Conflict

Thousands Start Afresh in Niger After Fleeing Nigeria

In May 2013, the Nigerian government, responding to a surge in violence in the north-east of the country, declared a state of emergency in the volatile states of Borno, Adawama and Yobe. Many people fled to neighbouring Niger's Diffa region and to the Far North Region of Cameroon. Fresh violence in January this year has forced thousands more to flee to both countries. UNHCR photographer Hélène Caux visited the towns of Bosso and Diffa in Niger's Diffa region shortly before the latest influx. She met some of the Nigerian refugees who had fled earlier waves of violence across the border. They told her of the violence they had seen, the losses they had suffered and their attempts to lead as normal a life as possible in Diffa, including sending their children to attend school. They are grateful to the communities that have welcomed and helped them in Niger.

Thousands Start Afresh in Niger After Fleeing Nigeria

Cameroon: High Commissioner Meets Nigerian Refugees

In Minawao camp, Cameroon, Nigerian refugees get a chance to tell their stories to High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres during his visit.

Chad: A Nigerian Child Alone

Thousands of refugees have fled militant attacks in Nigeria and sought safety in Chad. They include at least 100 children who have been provided shelter by other families.

Chad: Refugees from Nigeria

In recent weeks, thousands have been forced to flee northern Nigeria after militants attacked their villages, crossing Lake Chad in packed boats and seeking safety at the Dar-es-Salam refugee site in Chad.